Fire and Ice A Leah Imprint Story
by blackbeanie
Summary: Set after Breaking Dawn. Leah finally finds her imprint, but the other wolves do not approve. Why? Her imprint is a vampire. LeahXOC
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

**Fire and Ice- Prologue**

Bella's POV.

As Alice had predicted, a thunderstorm had hit Forks. Perfect baseball weather, and now that I had been turned I got to play with the rest of the Cullen's.

And now that I didn't have to worry about tripping over my own feet or hitting myself with the bat I was actually starting to enjoy sports.

Jacob and Renesmee were our umpires; Jake was in his wolf form lying on the ground with my daughter sitting on his back. I don't think he knew, but she was braiding the longer hairs on his neck.

Just as Rosalie came up to bat, the wind changed direction and a foreign scent hit all our nostrils.

Jacob jumped to his feet and growled.

There was another vampire heading towards, one none of us knew, and these days that was something to worry about.

Carlisle called everyone to the pitchers mound.

"He's heard us," Alice said. "He's coming to investigate."

"Is he a member of the Volturi?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know," she answered. "This one's new."

"Just one?" Emmett scoffed, "won't be a problem."

"We still have to be cautious," my god of a husband reminded him.

"I don't think he's a threat," Alice said. "Just curious."

We didn't have to wait long to find out, the newcomer was already running through the woods towards us.

I plucked Renesmee off Jacob's back and held her close.

Very quickly, he came into sight. Seeing him made me calm (although that could have been Jasper.) He didn't look dangerous or like someone the Volturi would employ.

He was about 6'1''; pale skinned of course, messy dark-brown hair that just reached his shoulders, with a tuft beard on his chin. Strangely handsome, in his own scruffy way.

When he got close enough, we were all relieved to see that he had the golden eyes of a vegetarian.

I'm sure his clothes were killing Alice; he dressed in the typical grunge fashion. Ripped jeans and an unbuttoned red and black flannel shirt. Silver rings decorated each finger and at least four pedants hung from his neck. He was barefoot but a pair of boots hung from the backpack slung over his shoulders.

He stopped in front of us, smiling warmly despite the anxiety in the air.

"Hi," he greeted, eyes flickering between everyone. "I heard there was a coven around here."

"Yes, we're the Cullens," Carlisle said, stepping forward, then named us one by one. "May I ask who you are?"

"Wesley," he introduced, offering his hand. "But everyone just calls me Wes."

"What brings you to Forks, Wes?" Carlisle asked, shaking the hand.

"Nothing really, I was just wandering though the area, heard your game and thought I'd check it out."

Carlisle looked back at Edward for confirmation; he nodded.

Wes stared at Nessie in confusion.

"You're… you're not going to eat her, are you?" He asked timidly, pointing at my baby.

"No," everyone said, disgusted by the idea. Jacob barked angrily.

"Just checking." Wes defended, he moved forward cautiously to greet her. "Hey, little one." He poked her still chubby belly, making her giggle. "What's your name?"

"Renesmee," she said happily.

"Well that's a… unique name." He forced out.

"We call her Nessie," Emmett said. I glared at him.

"As in Loch Ness? Cute."

Nessie reached up and touched his face. I was later informed that she showed him the backstory of her birth, how our family lived and why Jacob was with us.

"Huh." He looked at Jacob, "and I thought you were their pet."

Jacob huffed while the rest of us tried not to laugh. Except for Emmett, who didn't hold it back.

"Sorry, man." Wes said. "I didn't even know werewolves were real. Which is kinda strange coming from a vampire."

He offered his hand again, "I think you got the better deal. I always thought 'wolves were cooler."

Jacob grinned and lifted his paw to the newcomer's hand. They shook awkwardly.

The foul scent of more wolves filled the air; Seth and Leah emerged from the woods and galloped across the field towards us.

Wes scowled at Jake; "you called them here to kill me, didn't you?"

"They just want to make sure you're not a threat," Edward assured, speaking for Jacob.

Wes watched nervously as they approached, giving us the chance to talk about him.

"Seems harmless," Edward mouthed. He smiled and tickled our baby's chin. "Nessie likes him."

"I can't see his future," Alice pouted.

"Maybe the wolves get him."

The Clearwater's stopped about 3 feet from Wes, muscles taut and ready to pounce.

"Hi," he said, holding very still. He looked nervous, but not afraid.

Leah made a growling/barking noise, and their eyes locked.

Seth and Jacob's eyes shot open in the same shocked expression and they turned to their packmate, as if waiting for a response.

Edward had the same look for a second, before an amused smile crossed his gorgeous face.

All tension evaporated from Wes and he smiled again, this time at Leah.

It was a look of admiration, awe and devotion.

Oh…

No freakin' way.

"Hi," he said to her.

If I had still been human, I would have missed it. She bolted away faster than I've ever seen any of the wolves move.

Seth and Jacob hesitated briefly before running after her.

We all stared as they ran off; no one said anything until a baffled Wes turned to us.

"What'd I do?"

Leah's POV.

No.

No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

Of all the sick jokes the universe could play on me, this was right at the top of the list.

He was a leech… a gorgeous, magnificent leech.

He even smelt better than the rest of them.

When he smiled at me all the anger I had for Sam vanished. I understood why he'd left me for Emily. Even worse, I approved of it; if he'd asked my permission I would have told him to go to her.

Oh God… I think I'd just forgiven him.

I stopped running and sat on the forest floor, thought going back to… my imprint.

He looked like he'd been thrown up by a Nirvana concert, and he made it look good. I wanted to run my fingers through that mane of not-quite-brown-but-not-quite-black hair.

I wanted to know everything about him, where he'd been, where he was going. How and when he'd been changed.

But mostly, I just wanted to be with him forever. And I didn't even know his name.

'_Wesley_,' Jacob said as he and my brother caught up. '_But he likes to be called Wes_.'

Crap. I loved that name.

'_He doesn't eat humans_,' my alpha added, trying to reassure me.

'_Are you ok with this?_' Seth asked.

'_You know what? I think I am,_' I answered. And I really was, I was starting to care less about what he was and more about who he was. I didn't care that he was a vamp; all I cared about was him.

Good Lord, he's turned me into a sap.

'_Should we go back?_' my brother asked.

'_No,_' I said, despite every instinct in my body screaming _yes!_

I still needed time to figure out what this meant for me, decide how I was going to explain this to him.

Unfortunately, Jake had other plans.

'_I think we should give the Cullen's more time with him, so they can scoop him out, decide if he really is a good guy or not.'_ He looked nervously at me, _'and I think we should discuss this with the others.'_

'_What others?' _

'_The other wolves.'_

'_No!'_ I barked (in more than one way).

'_Leah…'_ he said sadly.

'_Not right now,'_ I pleaded_. 'Just let me see if anything happens.'_ It suddenly occurred to me… _'We're a different species; he probably won't want me anyway. And if nothing happens then there's no problem.'_

'_Aright,' _Jacob agreed_. 'This stays a secret for now.'_

He kept talking, but I wasn't listening.

It tore me apart, but heartbreak was how this was going to end.


	2. Choices

**Disclaimer:** I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

Chapter 1 – Changes

Leah's POV.

Wes was the only thing on my mind the rest of the day. Everytime I tried to block him out my brain betrayed me; I only cared because it hurt to think about him.

And when I went to sleep that night, I dreamt about him.

I also had nightmares about him, ones so real I woke up gleaming with cold sweat.

In the first one we were running through the forest together, me in wolf mode. We were racing, but didn't seem to have a finish line.

Seth got home late, when he stubbed his toe on a doorframe it pulled me out of that dream, starting the nightmares.

A giant mass of black fur attacked Wes, ripping him to pieces. Barks and growls of encouragement drowned out my screaming.

The one after that was another nightmare, he rushed at me, grabbing my arms so I couldn't fight back. Not that I would, I could never hurt him. His once beautiful eyes glowed red as his teeth sank into my throat.

Thankfully, the next one was good, and my favourite by far.

We were lying together in a clearing on the forest floor; I'd already gotten his shirt off and he was working on returning the favour.

His icy hands traveled up and down my sides and stomach, leaving goosebumps behind. His thumbs brushing the sides of my breasts teasingly, I growled at him for it, but he just grinned against my lips.

"I love when you do that," he whispered, nuzzling my jaw.

I growled again for him, lightly dragging my nails down his back.

"Leah," he purred. "My Leah."

And of course, that's when I woke up.

I growled again, it was almost 10 so I decided to get up. I pulled on some jeans and a white tanktop and headed downstairs.

Seth was still snoring happily as I went past his room (lucky bastard); mom was in the kitchen drinking her morning coffee with the news was playing in the background.

"Morning, sweetheart." She greeted.

"Hey, mom."

"Was that you or your brother swearing in the hallway last night?"

"Wasn't me," I said, yawning.

"You should go back to bed, you still look tired."

I wasn't one of those people who could sleep in. "I'm fine, I just woke up a few times."

"Nightmares?"

How does she always know?

The radio behind her caught my attention.

"_Local activists are still protesting the petition to allow hunting of the wolf pack roaming the Olympic area. The petition was started by Morris Campbell, who claims several of the animals attacked him while camping." _

Mom gave me a scolding look.

"We were hungry," I defended. It was Campbell's own fault; he had left some food lying out in the open while Jared, Embry and I were patrolling.

I tried to stop them, but they were starved, then the guy comes out of his tent and starts screaming, so we ran off.

Then the next day, he's on T.V claiming we tried to eat him. He bragged about fighting us off with a stick.

After Sam had stopped yelling at us, it was actually kind of funny.

"There's something different about you today," my mom noticed, snapping me out of my head.

"What?" I asked innocently. Could she know? Was I glowing or something?

"You seem… happier," she settled. "And less tense."

"Do I?" I needed to distract her and fast. Casually, I turned away from her, acting like I was deciding on breakfast. I could still feel her scrutinizing stare on my back.

Then I saw my salvation lying on the bench.

"Isn't that Emily's recipe book?" I asked.

She nodded, "I borrowed it about a week ago. But I'm supposed to give it back to her today."

"I'll drop it off now if you want."

She chocked into her mug, spilling coffee down her shirt.

"Are you alright?" I asked, grabbing a cloth for her.

"Fine," she sputtered. "You just… startled me."

In my desperation I had forgotten that I _never_ went to Sam and Emily's house unless absolutely necessary.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"It's ok. And yes, you can drop off the book if you want."

I grabbed it and ran out the door, farewelling as I went.

The human walk from my house to theirs was about ten minutes; it wasn't raining which was rare (and a relief) so, as far as walks went, it was a good one.

Emily was unloading bags of groceries from her car when I arrived, and since she fed most of us there were allot of them. The wolves that ate there had to start leaving five or more dollars every week so the couple wouldn't go broke.

She gathered four bags in her arms and tried to get them into the house but couldn't quite handle them. A jar snaked its way over the top and plunged to the ground, but thanks to my lighting quick response, was stopped before smashing on their driveway.

"Good catch," she said, smiling thankfully.

"Thanks," I replied, carefully maneuvering two of the bags into my arms.

"Oh, you don't have to-" she started.

"I don't mind," I promised, smiling at her. The first genuine smile I had given her in a long, long time.

I happily realised with all the anger and hostility gone, Em and I could go back to what we were before. I could get my best friend back… if she forgave me.

We carted the bags back and forth, making small talk.

"Where's Sam?" I asked. "Isn't this his job too?"

And, naturally, as soon as the words came out, Sam appeared with Paul.

"Speak of the devil," I added. "Hey, guys."

They were clearly surprised by my warm greeting.

"Hi," Sam replied captiously, as if I might explode. "Why brings you here?"

"Just returning a book for my mom," I pointed to where I'd left it on their kitchen bench.

"Thank you," he said in the same tone.

Behind him, Paul was eyeing me suspiciously.

"Why are so happy?" He demanded.

"I'm in a good mood," I defended.

"You're never in a good mood."

"Paul," Sam warned. "You're going to ruin that good mood if you don't shut up."

This annoyed me, but also amused me, so it evened out.

God, I wanted to see Wes.

"So, where have you two been?" I asked them.

"There's a new leech in the woods," Paul said.

I think my body temperature dropped back to human level. Please, not him.

"Really? Did you get a look at it?"

"Nah, wasn't on our side of the line. It's the Cullens problem."

Thank you sweet, merciful God.

"Someone should check in on them," Sam mused. "See if they know about it."

"I will," I volunteered a little too quickly.

Paul scowled. "Seriously, what's up with you?"

"Nothing," I snapped, he was starting to piss me off.

"Oh, there you are," he grinned smugly. I just rolled my eyes.

Sam pushed him away. "So, if they do know about it, find out if it's a danger or not."

"Yes, sir." I mock saluted him.

I borrowed some rope to attach my clothes to me and headed off, but my ears heard their conversation.

"Did that scare anyone else?" Paul asked, right before the pleasant sound of Sam smacking him.

"It was weird," Emily agreed. "She was like her old self."

Sam was quiet for a moment, "I think she's imprinted."

"How can you tell?"

"She's got that look in her eyes that we've all got when our imprints aren't there," he explained. "She misses him."

Goddamn it, I was trying to hide that.

"We've gotta find out who this guy is," Paul said. "And thank him."

"She'll bring him to us when she's ready," Sam told him. "Don't push her."

Happy with what I'd heard, I ran to the Cullens house, stopping a before I got there to phase back and clothe.

While I waited for them to answer my knocks, I fussed over my hair using their window.

That bitchy blonde, Rosalie, answered the door.

"What do you want?" She sighed.

"I need to talk to all of you."

"About what?"

"Another wolf smelt a vamp in the forest, they want me to make sure it was Wes and that he's not dangerous."

She waved me in and I followed her to the lounge room.

His scent was the same as the others, but somehow better (does that make sense to you?), it drowned out the others and made my knees weak.

Then I heard his heavenly voice.

"Hey, you came back."


	3. Getting to know

Thank you for all the lovely comments.

AN: I apologize to all the hippies.

AN2: I don't know if S.O.A.D have ever been to Seattle, but if not, let's pretend they have.

**Disclaimer:** I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

**Chapter 3- **

Leah's POV

Wes smiled warmly as he abandoned the Xbox game he was playing with Emmett and Jasper to greet me.

"You were the grey one, right?" He asked.

"That was me," I replied, thankful that I managed to say something coherent. "How did you know?"

"Nessie showed me in one of her… whatever they're called." He looked me over, "you're hotter in real life."

"I know, we all have really high temperatures-"

"Not what I meant," he said suggestively. "I'm Wes," he grinned, offering his hand.

"Leah Clearwater." I shook it, hoping my blush wasn't visible.

He shook it, but scowled a little. "Clearwater?"

"Yeah. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Not a problem, it's just kinda hippie-ish."

"You don't like hippies?" We may have something in common.

"Can't stand 'em."

"Hmm," Rosalie murmured. "Aren't you here for a reason?"

"Yes," I glared at her. "Did you come here alone?"

"I did, but I'm not some weird loner, I have lots of friends."

"I believe you," I promised. "Did you sense another vamp, apart from these guys, while you were wandering."

"No, they were all. It was a pretty boring trip."

"Where were you coming from?" That wasn't business; I just wanted to know.

He grinned, "I, and some friends, were up in Seattle for the System of a Down concert."

"Vampires go to concerts?"

"What's the point of living forever if you don't enjoy it?"

"That's what I kept telling Edward!" Emmett called from the couch.

"But your version had strippers," Jasper added.

Rosalie glared at her husband, who shriveled into the cushions. Everyone else tried not to laugh.

"So why the sudden interest in me?" Wes asked, eyes never leaving mine.

"Just making sure you're not a threat."

Emmett laughed, "he's less threatening than a box of kittens."

Wes clicked his tongue against his teeth, "let's see if you keep that attitude when I beat you to death with your wife."

Jasper chuckled; Emmett smacked his shoulder. I heard a car pull into the garage.

"I'm not going to attack any humans," he assured me. "And I won't bother any of your furry friends unless they bother me."

"I should warn you; there's a very good chance they'll do that."

"Oh goodie," he said with mock enthusiasm.

Jasper's face lit up as Alice walked in, carrying more shopping bags then I could count.

"Please God, no." Wes muttered.

"Hey, everyone. Hi, Leah." She walked over to Wes, holding up the bags. "I found some stuff I think you'd really like." Huh, she bought clothes for him, that made me a little angry. "Try them on," she said innocently, but I had a strange fear of what would happen if he refused.

"Gee, Alice… you know I'd love too…" I didn't believe him. "But, I… promised Leah I'd walk her home."

What?

"Oh, ok." Her shoulders slumped. "When are you leaving?"

"Right now," he said, grabbing my arm and pulling me to the door. Not in a violent way, more desperate.

Once we were out of earshot, he let go.

"Sorry, but I don't like people trying to dress me. And she frightens me a little."

"It's fine, I was done anyway. Probably should head back."

"Can I walk you?" He asked, a little shyly. "You know, for real?"

Jackpot.

"Sure, if you want. I'll just phase-"

He grabbed my arm again, "can you talk in wolf form?"

"Not outloud."

"So, can't you stay human? I'm in a chatty mood."

"It's a long walk," I warned him.

"Something wrong with your legs, she-wolf?"

I grinned.

So as we walked, we talked. I won't bore you with the long version, but this is what I learnt about him:

- Born in Denver, Colorado, 1971. Died somewhere in Idaho, 1994.

- While hitchhiking to Seattle after Kurt Cobain's suicide, he was picked up by a vampire.

- Said vamp bit him and dumped his 'dead' body in the woods.

- After ten days in those woods he attacked a deer, thus starting his vegetarian diet.

- A coven found him a year later and took him under their wing.

- Hates rap.

- Believes cell phones will somehow take over the world.

- Thinks I have gorgeous eyes.

I almost cried out in anger when we reached the boundary line.

"This is it?" Wes asked in disbelief. "I thought it was an actually line. Like someone got duct tape and stuck it on the ground."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"It's not your fault," he sighed dramatically. "Besides, your company makes up for it."

Then there was a long, awkward silence. We smiled politely, as if waiting for the other to do something.

"So, I better get going." I said, backing towards the invisible line.

"Leah?" He sounded annoyed.

"Yes?"

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

There were allot of things I wanted to tell him, but I wasn't going to this soon.

"What would I want to tell you?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Maybe why the second I saw you, all the anger and hate I've been carrying over the years vanished." He walked towards me slowly. "Maybe why when I'm around you it feels like my heart is still beating." We were so closes I could feel his cold breath on my lips. "Maybe that you feel the same way?"

His breathing was starting to match mine, "Edward insisted that I had to know what imprinting was. Is there a reason for that?"

"I imprinted on you." I managed to gasp out.

"Awesome," he grinned, finally touching me. It was just a hand cupping my face, but sensation almost knocked me out. "This is probably a stupid question, but can I kiss you?"

"Yes, that's a very stupid question."

I was a little worried that our difference in body temperatures would make us stick together (wouldn't be the strangest thing to happen to me), but of course I never found out.

The giant black mass of fur that was Sam flew into Wes and tackled him to the ground, teeth ripping into his arm.


	4. Shout 2000

**Disclaimer:** I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

**Chapter 4- Shout 2000**

AN: A bad word is used. Get over it, there are worse words.

-----------------------------

The giant black mass of fur that was Sam flew into Wes and tackled him to the ground, teeth ripping into his arm.

Everything after happened so quickly I'm not sure I got all of it, but I'll do my best to explain.

I phased instantly, running at Sam, but I didn't see that Paul was just behind him. He tried to stop but we still collided, both of us falling in a heap to the dirt floor.

Sam jerked his head and tore my imprint's arm clean off, and believe it or not; _this _is where it got interesting.

Wes and I screamed at the same time, mine came out a broken howl, while his came out a sonic shock wave that sent Sam flying more than ten feet into the air.

So he _did _have a power. I meant to ask, but it slipped my mind.

Paul and I watched in pure astonishment as Sam dropped back to the ground, yelping on impact. Wes rolled backwards, onto his feet and crouched, teeth bared.

He didn't attack, but was ready to.

Paul ran at him and clamped my jaw into his back leg, pulling him back. (Calm down, he recovered less than an hour later and enjoyed having Rachel fuss over him.)

I positioned myself between Wes and the others, growling fiercely.

Sam shook off the fall and phased into his human form.

"What the hell are you doing?" He demanded.

Reluctantly I phased too, only because I needed to explain and it looked like Wes could take care of himself.

"Why did you attack him?" I snapped back.

"He was attacking you… wasn't he?"

"No!" Wes and I yelled at the same time.

Paul nudged the severed arm with his muzzle; it shot up and smacked him across the head.

"Whoa!" Wes exclaimed; he and Paul jumped away from it. "Sorry man, I didn't know I could do that."

The limb dug its fingers into the dirt and dragged itself towards Wes. He picked it up, watching in part awe and part disgust as it moved, reminding me of a lizard tail.

"Wait," Sam said. "If he wasn't attacking you, what was he doing?"

"_I_," Wes said, annoyed at the way he was being ignored. "Was trying to kiss her. Thank you for cockblocking me, by the way."

"You should be grateful we interrupted," a human Paul said. "If you'd kissed her, she would have ripped off something else."

I sighed, might as well get it over with.

"No, I wouldn't have." I wasn't ashamed of how I felt about Wes and I wasn't going to let him or anyone else think I was. "He's my imprint."

"But he's a vampire," Paul said, like I was blind enough not to notice.

"I know and I don't care."

"I don't eat humans, by the way," Wes added.

"You dealt with Jake imprinting on Renesmee," I pointed out. "And she's half vamp-"

"She'll also half human," Sam interrupted.

I growled and shoved him, making him stumbled backwards.

"Look, you and this imprinting crap has caused me nothing but pain, now there's a chance for me happy again and you're trying to take it from me?"

He looked ashamed, not daring to open his mouth.

"I don't care what else he is; he's _mine_. And if anyone lay's one finger, claw or tooth on him, I will rip them apart with my bare, human hands."

"He keeps off our land," Sam ordered. I wanted to protest, but decided to wait. I knew this conversation wasn't over.

He turned and motioned for Paul to follow, but before doing so, the younger man smiled genuinely at me.

"Congratulations," he said. "God knows you deserve it."

"Thanks," I said, smiling back.

Rachel had done wonders for that kid.

Once they were gone, I felt a cold hand touch my shoulder. Thankfully it was the one still connected to him.

"You alright?" Wes asked.

"Im fine," I promised, staring at the appendage that was curled around his neck like a pet snake. "Are you?"

"I'm surprisingly good for an amputee," the disconnected arm gave me a thumbs up.

"We should probably get you to the Cullens, I don't know much about reattaching vampiric limbs."

"Me neither," he replied, unbuttoning his shirt. "It never really-"

"What are you doing?" I asked as he pulled it off.

"I figured you'd want something to wear," he answered, holding out the cloth.

"Thanks," I put it on and tried not to let him catch me eyeing his bare torso while I buttoned it. He was slim, but he was built, I had a hard time focusing on the buttons.

"Kinda wish I'd worn one of the shirts Alice bought for me," he sighed, picking at the sleeve still covering the severed arm.

I laughed lightly, relieved that his freezing cold, plaid shirt reached the middle of my thigh.

We started walking, and I just had to ask…

"What was that super screaming thing you did?"

"It's my power, instead of mind reading or future-seeing, I yell and people go flying. That was actually the first time I've ever needed to use it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I don't get attacked very often. Mostly I use when I get bored or annoyed at people. And, occasionally, it happens accidentally when someone sneaks up on me."

"I'll remember not to do that."

I noticed him smiling at me admirably.

"What?"

"That speech you gave… it was pretty cool. I appreciate it."

_I'd do anything for you. _I'm so glad I didn't say that outloud. "It's no problem."

"Not yet, I have a feeling this isn't over."

I agreed; the others weren't going to let me hear the end of this.

"What did you mean when you said imprinting's caused you nothing but pain?"

He asked suddenly.

"Can I explain that later?" I pleaded.

He nodded, eyes understanding.

We talk some more until the Cullen house came into view.

"Wait," he suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me close. "There's something I want to do before we get interrupted again."

-----------------------------

AN2: Sorry this took so long, the real world kept delaying it. And by that I mean I've been crying because I live in Australia and the Twilight movie isn't out here yet. *Cries*

AN3: They're gonna make New Moon!


	5. The End of Heartache

**Disclaimer:** I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

**Chapter 5- The End of Heartache **

-----------------------------

"_What did you mean when you said imprinting's caused you nothing but pain?"_

_Wes asked suddenly. _

"_Can I explain that later?" I pleaded._

He nodded, eyes understanding.

_We talk some more until the Cullen house came into view._

"_Wait," he suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me close. "There's something I want to do before we get interrupted again."_

And yes, Wes meant what you think he meant.

A cool hand rested on the back of my neck to move us together, which was a little unnecessary since I was doing it anyway.

When our lips (finally) touched, I swear I heard fireworks in the background.

It was like this horrible, crushing weight had finally been lifted off me and I was free for the first time in… longer than I could remember.

At first we kept it innocent, just pushing our mouths together, but that was quickly abandoned. We managed to get ourselves under control though, for a few seconds we were almost mauling each other.

His lips were cold and rock hard like the rest of him, but it did bother me like I thought it would.

I trailed one hand up and down his back before rested it on his shoulder blade; I couldn't resist running the other through his hair. It was a bit tangled, but it suited him.

I managed not to whimper when he pulled away, I wanted to keep going, it's been a really long time since I'd had any… attention.

"Was that alright?" He asked, slightly out of breath.

"Fine," I replied casually, trying to tease him.

His brow rose in mock offense, "I'll try harder next time."

I gave him a quick peck for fun, he grinned and pulled me toward the house.

Esme, Jasper, Alice (who went upstairs when we came in) and Renesmee were sitting around the kitchen/loungeroom.

"What happened to you?" Esme asked.

"A werewolf ripped off my arm," Wes explained.

All eyes went to me.

"Not her," he growled. "The big, black one."

"Sam," I told him.

"I don't care what his name is."

Emmett's booming laugh sounded as he thumped down the stairs with Rosalie following.

"It looks like you got a pet snake," he said pointing.

Alice followed a few seconds later and gave me a pair of sweat shorts to wear, which I will be eternally grateful for, keeping the shirt down my to legs was annoying.

Wes smiled a little and shook his head, "how do I re-attach it?"

"Just hold it against your shoulder and it'll fuse back by itself," Jasper explained.

"Oh," Wes said. "That sounds easy," he sounded relieved.

They suggested he hold still to speed up the connection, so he ended up lying on the bed in the spare room the Cullens had put him in.

I pulled the tattered remains of shirt from the severed arm, and found out he had a tattoo.

He gave me a one armed shrug; "I like wolves."

On his bicep was a very regal looking wolf head with flowing fur. A full moon shone behind it.

"It's nice," I complimented, running my fingers over it.

"Thanks, got it when I was twenty. Hurt like hell, are you going to tell me what you meant by imprinting causing you pain?"

"You want to be a little more subtle next time?" I asked.

"Nah, this is fine."

I sighed and sat beside him on the bed. (And get your minds out of the gutter; we're not going to do anything in a house full of vampires with super hearing.)

"Sam, the one that attacked you, he and I used to date."

"Oh good, more reasons for us to get along," he said happily. "Was it serious?"

"Very," I admitted. "We were high school sweethearts and very much in love, we both believed we'd get married some day."

He nodded, looking calm but I could see anger in his eyes.

I decided to keep the story short, "and one day I introduced him to my cousin Emily. She was more like my sister-"

"And he imprinted on her," Wes finished, not guessing.

"Yeah," I muttered, looking down at the sheets. When I looked back up at Wes, he had a very strange expression on his face. The best way to describe it was a mix of sadness, understanding, amusement and amazement.

"What?" I asked.

"Almost the exact same thing happened to me," he explained.

"What?" I asked again, this one more of an exclamation.

"When I was about fourteen, a girl named Sarah started at my school and we hit it off right away."

Now it was my turn to silently be angry. I think he knew, because he chuckled and tucked some hair behind my ear.

"From day one we were inseparable, if we were in the same class we sat together, and if we weren't one of us would be waiting at the others door when class ended. We even got jobs at the same place."

"She was my life, and I was convinced that it would always be that way. But then I did something incredibly stupid."

"What was that?"

"I took her home to introduce her to my family and she met my brother, Chris."

Oh.

"He was a year older than me and had gotten a scholarship to a private school, so they'd never crossed paths. But it didn't take long for them to start sneaking around behind my back."

I touched his hand reassuringly; at least Sam and Em had never done that.

"I few months after I turned seventeen, she told me about them. She promised that it wasn't my fault, that I hadn't done anything wrong, it was just fate."

I managed not to scoff at that.

"And three months later they broke up."

He laughed at the face I made, "I know, right?"

The humour disappeared from his face as the story continued.

"After that I became this bitter, depressed, shell of myself that people avoided like the plague. My life goal seemed to be making everyone else as angry and miserable as I was." Ok, this was getting creepy. "Which, my parents blamed on the music I was listening to, claiming it was a bad influence. Despite the fact I listened to it before my mood change"

"Did you tell them what it really was?"

"Nah, Chris was their golden boy, to them he could no wrong and there was no point in trying to make them see otherwise."

"I was happier after I was turned, I could never go home and didn't have deal with any of them again, but I still held onto allot of that anger and mistrust. Until I came here."

I smiled and without thinking kissed him, being careful not to lean on the healing arm. He wrapped the free one around my waist and responded enthusiastically.

-----------------------------

AN: I was thinking of a certain picture from the net when I described the tattoo, but now I can't find it, but when I do I will post the link for you.

AN2: Thank you to all the wonderful reviewers.

_AN3: 6 bloody days until Twilight comes out in Aus_


	6. New Pain

**Disclaimer:** I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

**Chapter 6- New Pain**

First of all, I am so unbelievably sorry that it's taken so long for me to update. There are a long list of reason which you have no obligation to read but… We had various relatives over mid December 'til Christmas (there were some free days, but I couldn't write every second). Then after New Years I got sick, and not the good kind where you can sit at the computer all day) and apart from that my sister is on school holidays and has been hogging the computer all day and most of the night.

And all your reviews really have been wonderful (and also made me feel very guilty) so Leah will do something in this chapter in an attempt to redeem myself and earn your forgiveness. *Puppy eyes*

AN2: By 'the older wolves' (see further down), I mean all anyone who phased during New Moon.

-----------------------------

"The Jonas Brothers?" I asked.

"Hate 'em," Wes growled.

"Thank God," I breathed. "Otherwise we'd have a serious problem."

We were still in one of the Cullens' spare beds waiting for his arm to heal. I was lying with my head at the opposite end, enjoying the feeling of Wes stroking my feet while we discussed music.

"They annoy the hell outta me," he continued. "I want to punch that long haired one in the face."

"Don't though," I cautioned. "Millions of teenage girls would hunt you down."

He chuckled; it was (God help me) a magical sound. "Pink?"

"Her I like, her songs are good and have real meaning behind them."

"And she's got a personality, unlike most singers today."

We heard a phone ring in the background; Esme knocked on our door shortly after.

"It's Jacob," she said, holding out the phone to me.

_"Hey Leah,"_ he greeted.

"What's wrong?" I know it seems pessimistic, but the odds of it being good news were non-existent.

_"You need to come back, word about your imprint has spread and everyone is going crazy."_

"Why?"

_"The two main reasons seem to be that we won't be able to stop him when he tries to kill all of us and that he'll kill you."_

I let out and annoyed sigh. "How's Sam reacting?"

He hesitated, not a good sign. _"He's worried about you… everyone is."_

It was strange and I still don't know why, but I believed that.

"I'll be there soon."

Wes had moved to my end of the bed, he didn't look happy; "I don't like this."

"They won't hurt you,"

"I'm not worried about them hurting me."

I laughed, there was no way they'd do that.

"They didn't kill me when I was a pain in the ass, why do it now?"

He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, running a finger over the soft skin. If werewolves could purr, I would have.

"I just don't trust them," he admitted.

"But I do. I know them, they're good guys… possibly overreacting, but good."

He huffed and pulled on a tight, black Slipknot shirt (making him looked sexy as hell), we said our goodbyes to the Cullens and headed to the line, I kept trying to reassure him, but he was very quiet.

"Let me go with you," he pleaded.

"You're not allowed on our land, remember?"

"Can't they make an exception?"

"Only if you're a doctor and someone's injured," I said, recalling when we had reluctantly let Carlisle treat Jacob.

"Well, I could borrow a stethoscope and you could break someone's leg…"  
"No," I kissed him softly and turned to leave, "I'll be fine."

He pulled me back, wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me harder. He growled and sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, biting down firmly.

"I'll be waiting," he promised.

Slightly dizzy from what I suspect was a hormone overload, I phased and headed back home.

_'Ewwwwww,'_ Seth groaned, running up to greet me. I was replying the memory of that kiss over and over in my head, mostly because I couldn't think about anything else.

_'I will do whatever you want if you never think about that again.'_

_'Seth, of the memories Wes and I will make, that's the one you want to ban?'_

He whined and ran faster.

We stopped by home to grab suitable clothes and headed down to the beach where Sam and the older wolves had gathered around a bon fire, talking and eating in our normal, disgusting fashion.

They all wrinkled their noses when they smelt the vampiric scent from the flannel shirt Wes had leant me. Insult me if you must, but wearing it was comforting.

Seth and I sat down; everyone except Jake had the same expression. They weren't happy, but didn't want to let me know.

"So," I sighed. "We all know why we're here… let's get it out in the open."

"He's a leech, Leah!" Embry burst, startling Quil beside him.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," I snapped. "Now, with this revelation, the madness can finally end." Huh, old bitter Leah was resurfacing. This should be good.

"How can you even stand to be near him?" Jared asked, although he seemed more curious that appalled. "Even that shirt is driving me crazy."

"He smells fine to me," I shrugged. Fine may have been an understatement, but they didn't need to know that.

"Why don't you tell us a little about him?" Sam suggested.

"Um… He's about 37, but stuck at 23. Has never drunk human blood." I pointed at Paul to get his attention, "big fans of the older rock bands likes Zeppelin and Nirvana…" Paul loved that stuff, "most rock bands, actually. And he's really funny-"

"Why does this matter?" Quil asked. "I'm happy you imprinted Leah, really. But, again, he's a vampire."

"Well, at least my imprint has all his grown-up teeth."

Quil growled, I heard someone snort, trying not to laugh.

"I understand your concerns, they all raced through my head when this started, but I think if you got to know Wes…" They all grimaced at his name and I ignored it. "Then you'll see he's harmless."

"Leah," Sam said carefully. "Do you intend to let him onto the reservation."

"Only if everyone's ok with it."

Everyone unleashed their protests before I could say 'with'. Obviously, they were not ok with it.

I tried compromising, "if he started wanting blood too much I'd get him out."

They still weren't happy, but I kept trying.

"Then away from the town, no where near any-"

"NO!" Sam bellowed and everyone shut up instantly. If it weren't so serious it probably would have been funny.

"I don't care if he's two-thousand and has never had human blood, we aren't letting him on this land."

"So what, I have to go back and forth between the territories because you won't give him a chance?"

Sam glanced at the ground before meeting my eyes for the first time that night; they were blank.

"No, I don't."

Everyone seemed to figure out what he meant at the same time. A silent shock ripped through the circle.

"Sam," I pleaded quietly. "Don't make me choose between my pack and my imprint… You know who'll win."

He stood his ground.

Maybe it was the years of built up heartbreak and betrayal that made me do it, or all the anger that he was unreasonable, or the fact that fate kept kicking me in the gut over and over.

Whatever the reason, I punched Sam Ulley in the face. Hard.

I dashed past him, hearing his yelp of pain and the various noises of the pack fade behind me. I phased and I ran, for the same reasons as Jake when he ran off, I just felt the need to get away.

I had no idea where I was going or if anyone was following, my focus was on whatever was in front of me.

After a while a river appeared ahead and without thinking I leaped into it, the freezing water shocking and then soothing my exhausted muscles. Not wanting to be dragged down by wet fur, I phased back and resurfaced.

The water was deep, so I couldn't stand up; I just tread water waiting for my brain to process everything and almost sobbed when it did.

I didn't want to leave the pack; I loved being part of it. Being included in this scared role of our history and heritage was an honour and I'd always treated it like that.

And, I would never admit it to them, but I loved all those bastards. They'd become my brothers, no matter how hard I tried to fight it.

"Can you hear me now?" A beautiful voice asked behind me.

In the water behind me was Wes… and he was fully clothed.

"How'd it go?" He asked, the tone of his voice suggesting that he already knew.

"I punched Sam in the face."

He didn't show it, but I knew inside there was a little Wes cheering.

"Why?"

I swam to the bank and pulled myself out, not answering.

"What did he do?" Wes hissed, following me. "If you want, I can kill him."

I didn't have the energy to scold him; I just collapsed onto a nice patch of grass and tried to relax.

Wes lay down beside me.

"Just give me some time to let everything sink in," I whispered, shutting my eyes. "Sam was being a jerk, or maybe I was. But if it was him, it probably wasn't enough to warrant death."

"Ok," he said softly, running his through my hair. "Do you want me leave?"

"Never," I smiled.

He chuckled and pulled me against his chest, I snuggled close and got comfortable. He'd taken off his shirt and somehow his cold skin made me feel warm as I drifted off.

-----------------------------

I always wanted someone to punch Sam in the face, and I'm pretty sure Leah would to… if she were real.

And now my (short) opinion of Twilight: The Movie (I finally saw it)

Going in, I knew there would be differences to the book. Unlike some people, I accepted that and tried to judge the movie separately.

Overall, I loved it. The cast were great (how cute were Jasper and Alice?), Supermassive Black Hole is now my ringtone, I saw it more than once, will probably see it again and eagerly await the DVD.

And the credits were beautiful.

However, it would have taken 4 seconds to explain Jasper's ability and they cut it out. How rude.

P.S. I'm just sharing my opinion; if yours is different I respect that, you're entitled to it… Let's not turn it into a giant debate.


	7. The Fight Song

**Disclaimer:** I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

**Chapter 7- The Fight Song**

AN: Wes starts using the F word a bit more in this chapter; you are warned.

(Although if that word offends you, the world must be a very tough place for you to live in.)

-----------------------------

_"Sam," I pleaded quietly. "Don't make me choose between my pack and my imprint… You know who'll win."_

When I woke up, the sun moments away from rising and Wes still had his arms around me, he was lightly singing a song that was really familiar, but I couldn't remember the name of.

Memories of the previous night came rushing back, punching Sam felt unbelievably good now, at the time my anger had overwhelmed any satisfaction. But the ache of leaving the pack still remained, feeling like a kick to the stomach.

Wonderwall, that was the name of the song.

"Hey," he said, noticing I was awake. "How're you feeling?"

"I don't know… Is crap-tacular a real word?"

"I think if it's used enough, anything is a word," he chuckled before glancing away nervously. "Can you tell me what happened?

I sighed and sat up, stretching my exhausted muscles. "Sam gave me a choice; I give up being in the pack, or I give up being with you."

There was a short silence before he raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"And…?" He asked.

"And what?"

"What did you choose?"

I thought he was joking for a second, but no, completely serious. I would have smacked him if I didn't have pins and needles in my arms from the awkward sleeping position.

"I choose you… you ass."

He looked surprised, to say the least. "But… why? No one ever chooses me."

"Well, apparently, I do." I said, avoiding answering the first part.

_Why?_

_Because I love you._

"They can't seriously do that, can they?" He asked skeptically. "Just kick out of your home because of me."

"I don't know if I'm exiled," maybe I should have gotten more information before running off.

"So, they weren't running you off the land?"

"Who?"

"Those wolves chasing," a guilty look spread over his face. "Or maybe just following you."

"What did you do to them?"

"I didn't touch a hair on their giant, fuzzy heads," he promised. "They were very close behind you, and when I arrived you didn't stop or acknowledge my presence, I assumed…" He trailed off for a few seconds. "So, I snapped in their direction, politely told them to fuck off and they did."

"Who were they?"

He shrugged, "one had sandy fur."

"That was Seth," I almost yelled.

"Oh. Awkward." I must have been angrier than I thought, because Wes suddenly looked scared of me.

"Again, didn't touch them… let's remember who you're really angry at."

I growled, he cautiously shifter closer and pulled me to lean against him. When I didn't object he wrapped an arm around me and nuzzled my hair.

"Can voice an opinion about this?"

"Sure," I sighed.

"The way I see it, you have two options; one…" He held up his index finger. "Leave; you and me, we get the hell away from here."

"Where would we go?"

"Anywhere you want, Australia… actually, not there… way too sunny… Europe, excluding Italy… the Cullen's have an island near Brazil they rarely use."

"The Cullen's have an island?" I asked, very shocked.

"I know, right?" He said, agreeing with my disbelief. "They're so effing spoiled it is unbelievable."

I smiled, "it's tempting… but I don't know if I could leave Seth and my mom right now."

"Understood, which brings us to option number two. It's quite simple and I think it's the one you're going to choose. Fight."

"Fight?"

"Not like a literal fist fight, but take 'em on. What the hell gives him the right to do this?"

"Centuries of tradition?"

"Fuck tradition," he stood up dramatically. "This is the new millennium. Your ancestors adapted when they found out the Cullen's don't eat humans; this is just like that. Find a compromise, if they want me off the reservation, I'll keep away, but you shouldn't be punished."

"I tried compromising-"

"Try again," he interrupted. "And again, and again, and again. You're strong, I know it, don't let that man-bitch bully you over something this trivial."

"That is the worst motivational speech I have ever heard."

"So I should give up my dream of coaching a misfit team of underdog football players?"

"Yeah." But he was right, since imprinting on him my attitude had changed but I was still the same person that sent the boys running with one snap of my teeth.

I'm Leah fucking Clearwater, first female werewolf of Quileute, daughter of Harry Clearwater and I will not be ganged up on by a bunch of… dogs.

"Hmm," Wes sat back down beside me. "We could head south, party it up in Mehico… we'll, you'll party it up, since I hate dancing and can't get drunk."

"We're not going anywhere."

"Aren't we?"

"Nope, you and I are staying right here and taking on the wolf-man."

He grinned and lunged forward, pulling me into a hug and kissing the top of my head. "That's my girl," he beamed with pride. "So my speech did work."

"Yeah, but it still sucked." I reminded casually.

"But still worked," the smug bastard replied.

The sun broke over the horizon, giving us a rare moment of actual daylight.

Wes sat back on his palms and closed his eyes like he was sunbathing; I almost scoffed.

Then the light hit him, his bare chest and face, shone for a split second before breaking into points of light.

And I knew, no matter how long I lived, I was never going to see anything more beautiful than this.

I'd never actually witnessed a vampire in sunlight first hand, a couple of the others had and I'd watched their memory of it. We'd all joked about how ridiculous sparkling was, but Wes made it work.

He caught me staring, not that I bothered trying to hide it.

"I know," he grimaced. "Lame right? Even the pixies make fun of us."

"You're beautiful," I breathed.

He half scoffed, half laughed. I'm not, but the fact that you think so is a real boost for my ego."

The clouds covered the sun again and we were back in the dark. I looked behind me to check if the sun would come back but it didn't look likely.

When I turned back to Wes he was sitting back up and had moved closer to me, so close that I could feel tiny sparks of electricity flickering between us.

"You're the beautiful one," he whispered, cupping my cheek.


	8. Eyes on Fire

**Disclaimer:** I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

**Chapter 8- Eyes on Fire**

"Sam," I pleaded quietly. "Don't make me choose between my pack and my imprint… You know who'll win."

Seth's POV

Jake and I bolted after Leah as she ran into the woods, we kept calling to her but I don't think she was listening.

Suddenly, the foul scent of vampire flooded my senses. Thankfully it was just Wes, who quickly ran up beside us.

He didn't seem to be in a good mood though; he snapped his pearly teeth at us and demanded that we, and these are his words, 'fuck off'.

I almost growled at him, but let it go. We were right on Leah's tail (no pun intended) and she wasn't stopping or acknowledging him in any way, so to him it probably looked like we were chasing her.

I didn't really know anything about the guy so seeing him defend my sister against two wolves was comforting.

Jake and I agreed to let him handle Leah, she probably wasn't in the mood to talk to us anyway; we hadn't stood up for her once during the meeting.

I felt like the world's biggest bastard.

But to be fair, I don't want her near him. I know he's her imprint, but he's still a vampire. Which normally isn't a problem for me, but Leah is my sister and I don't want to see her hurt. Ironically, by trying to keep Wes from hurting her, I let Sam hurt her again.

I'd feel better if I could talk to Edward about him, mind reading might be annoying for him sometimes but it definitely makes some things easier. E.g. telling if the new vampire in town is secretly an ass.

But right now I need to focus my anger on Sam, I don't know what hell possessed him to do what he did, the prick knew Leah was going to choose Wes.

His attitude tonight was just what the old Sam would have done, if something is causing a problem he doesn't bother to try and fix it, he just gets rid of it. After he became Alpha he grew up and actually started to face his problems, I think Emily helped a lot with that.

But I'm not going to let him do this to her.

Jake and I made it back to the bonfire, the others were still there; it looked like Jared and Paul were arguing with Sam.

"It's not right," Jared protested.

"I understand keeping the leech away, but Leah's one of us."

Holy crap, are they on her side?

It makes sense; they know how strong the love for an imprint and the pack is and how cruel making someone choose between them was.

Sam just couldn't stop hurting my sister; whether he was human of wolf, it seemed like his life's work to make her miserable.

When he disappeared a few years back (which turned out to be because he'd phased) I'd kept my mouth shut because his return made Leah happy, she hadn't cared where he went so I let it go.

I did nothing but ignore him when he left Leah for Emily; he was a lot bigger than I was and knew he'd hit back if I threw a punch (and I really wanted to.)

After I'd phased, keeping everyone from knowing how much I hated him was beyond impossible, but I'd just managed to do it. Letting some of my darker feelings leak out when he did something that annoyed me or anyone else helped manage it, but now I had no reason to hide them.

"You prick!" I yelled.

Everyone turned around, mostly with surprise on their faces, except for Quil and Embry, they both grinned.

"Calm down, Seth." Sam soothed.

"You just threw my sister out of the pack, I don't see much to be calm about."

"I didn't throw her out," he objected. "She had a choice, and she chose to leave us for that leech."

"He's her imprint," I growled. "And you knew she'd choose him 'cause that what you would do, you manipulative bastard."

"It's too dangerous," Sam said. I opened my mouth to argue, but he beat me to it.

"I know he doesn't eat humans, but he still has the urge to. And if he slips and kills someone on our land, then their blood will be on our hands and our consciences."

"I don't care about you keeping him off out territory," I growled. "I care about you kicking my sister out with him."

"She's still welcome here, I'm not throwing her out of her home-"

"Just her family," I spat.

"She's still welcome on the land as long as he's not with her."

"Why can't she stay in the pack?"

"We can't have her emotions in our heads if we ever need to kill the leech." He explained, "or her trying to stop us."

Crap, he actually has good reasons.

"It doesn't matter," Jake growled, finally stepping up. "She's not in your pack anymore. It's not your problem to deal with, it's mine."

"Allowing a leech onto Quiluete land is very much my problem," Sam disagreed.

"I'm not saying he's allowed," Jake defended. "That should be a group decision, but I won't get rid of my beta for imprinting on him."

"What do you mean a group decision?" Jared asked.

"It's exactly what it sounds like," Jake explained. "Whatever else we are, we're still humans, and we should act like humans. I say we vote on it."

There were nods and murmurs of agreement all around.

"That sounds fair," Sam nodded. "But the entire pack should get a say, even the pups."

"Then Leah should aswell," I cut in.

"But we know how she'll vote," Sam pointed out.

"She still deserves to be here for it."

"Fair enough, everyone go home and get some rest, tomorrow we vote if Leah stays or goes."


	9. The Story

AN: This should have been posted on the 18th, but my computer crashed (thank God for USB's). But if it makes you feel any better I had no Internet during that time and suffered horribly. And I'm really worried because this was posted as a wordpad file and they said to use that as a last resort, so now I'm paranoid something will go terribly wrong.

AN2: Someone asked for a person to picture Wes as. I pictured him as Jared Leto before he became a whiny Emo.

**Disclaimer:** I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

**Chapter 9- The Story**

_"Whatever else we are, we're still humans, and we should act like humans. I say we vote on it."_

Leah's POV

"A vote?" I repeated.

"Democratic werewolves?" Wes said from behind me.

Seth had met up with the two of at the boundary line and filled us in on what had happened last night.

Jake had suggested the pack vote on my dismissal and while Sam disagreed, it was happening anyway. Knowing Sam wasn't happy about it made Wes and I smile hugely.

Hearing that I at least had the imprintee's on my side was a mood lifter (excluding Sam, of course). Brady, Colin and Embry would probably side with them, but it wasn't a guarantee. And the pups were going to be a problem, they hadn't had as much time to adjust to the friendly vampire thing as the rest of us and most were even still weary of the Cullens so Wes had no chance.

"When?" I asked.

"Tonight, as soon as the sun goes down." Seth said. "Same place as always."

"Am I invited?" Wes asked.

"No," Seth said in a duh tone.

"Aww," Wes hung his head. "It's just like high school."

"Thanks, Seth." I said, rubbing his shoulder. He smiled and ran off.

"You alright?" Wes asked.

"I don't know," I mumbled, sitting on a rock.

He sat beside and nuzzled my hair lightly, I smiled and leaned against him.

"I think I can help," he said. "But since I'm not allowed anywhere near this thing, I have to be more creative."

"What did you have in mind?" I asked, suddenly a lot more nervous.

"Let me tell a little more about my life…"

-----------------------------

Everyone was waiting at the bonfire when I arrived; most of them were already quiet, but whoever was still talking quickly shut up when they saw me.

Paul and Jared nodded and smiled encouragingly as I sat across from them with Jake and Seth.

Sam stood and cleared his throat.

"You all know why we're here, but before we start, I think both sides should have a chance to state their reason for choosing what they've chosen."

As you are all painfully aware, sitting through a speech of almost any kind is an un-godly form of torture, so I will spare you the long version and instead give you this neat little summery of the arguments for and against my expulsion from the pack.

FOR (These were said by Sam)

- If Wes ever breaks one of our laws and has to be killed, I won't be there to defend him.

- If Wes ever breaks one of our laws and has to be killed, the one killing him won't have my voice in their head telling them to stop.

- If Wes ever breaks one of our laws and has to be killed, they won't have to hear me mourning.

AGAINST (Said by various people, mostly me)

- All Sam's points started with if, so none were actually an issue yet.

- I can't control who I imprint on and shouldn't be punished for it.

- If someone (Eg. Emily) is turned into vampire sometime in the future, is their imprintee automatically kicked out too?

- I wasn't kicked out when I was a pain in the ass, so why now? (Paul)

I want to expand this next part of the speeches, because it's kind of a big deal and you can't stop me (ha). Sam offered me a chance to address everyone before we voted, so I stood proudly in front them and said…

"I understand why some of you are scared of how this could end, the idea of Wes killing someone scares me too. And if one of you has to kill him in retaliation… I will hold it against you." I looked at Sam for the next part; "I will make sure that you know exactly how much you hurt me, everyday… for the rest of your life."

I looked out to the others again, "but Wes was turned ten years ago and hasn't drank from a human, that's a better track record then some of the Cullens. And he's been tempted, earlier today he told me a story…"

_Somewhere in Michigan, 1997._

_Wes wandered around the dark, cold streets, it was past midnight and he kicking an empty can along the footpath. Weaving through the people, forcing himself to ignore their scents._

_Suddenly one caught his attention; it was stronger than anything he had ever smelt before. Venom pooled in his mouth and without thinking he ran towards it. As he got closer the monster inside him started to take over. Every tiny detail of the scent was driving him crazy, making his eyes pitch black._

_He turned into an alley, not even stopping to take in the scene. Two men, one with a bloody knife in his hand were standing over a body._

_Wes grabbed them both_ _and threw them into nearest wall; the force left dents in the brick and the men unconscious._

_Something in the back of his brain made him stop and look at the body instead of biting into it. It was a_ _woman…_ _more of a girl really, she barely looked eighteen; her pretty blonde hair and fair skin were smeared with her own blood._

_He was reminded of the sister he had in his old life, Emma. She would be about this girl's age by now._

_He wondered if this girl had a brother, or any other family. And if they would miss her as much as he missed Emma._

_Growling, he clasped his hand over his mouth and nose and ran off._

_Once the scent faded and he was thinking clearly, his conscience kicked it. He couldn't just leave her there to die._

_He saw a police car parked by Starbucks; the two cops still inside. He rushed up and knocked on the window._

"The girl was unconscious and bleeding right in front of him, but he didn't touch her. We don't understand exactly how strong a vampire's bloodlust is, but he told me that moment was the equivalent of a man turning down an oasis after wandering the desert for three years."

"How do we know that's true?" Someone yelled. "He could be making it up!"

"We can't trust him!" Someone else said.

"No, you can't," I agreed. "But you can trust me, and I trust him. Which is why I'm making this offer…"

I had explained this to Jake and Seth earlier; I glanced down at them, Jake was shaking his head mouthing, 'no'.

I took a deep breath to steady myself and pictured Wes cheering me one.

"If Wes breaks the treaty… I'll kill him myself."

There was a ripple of shock through the crowd, the 'wolves who had imprinted looked horrified and I didn't blame them.

Seth gave me a thumbs up and a small smile.

"Ok," Sam called, trying to settle everyone down. "The arguments have been made, you have five minutes to make your final decision, then we vote."


	10. Guilty

AN: It's strange, I hate Sam, but as I'm writing this I feel for him. Since it's my story I know his intentions are good, but he's going about it the wrong way and making things worse.

So, (and I can't believe I'm saying/writing this…) go easy on him. He really is trying to protect Leah.

BTW, has everyone seen the pics of the wolf pack? Paul is hot.

**Disclaimer: **I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

**Chapter 10- Guilty**

_I took a deep breath to steady myself and pictured Wes cheering me one._

_"If Wes breaks the treaty… I'll kill him myself."_

Leah's POV

Sam grabbed my arm and dragged me away as the others talked, Seth and Jake tried to follow but I shooed them away.

Once we were out of earshot, Sam let me go.

"Are you insane?" He hissed.

"If I am, you've made me that way," I hissed back. "Why are you so set on keeping me miserable?"

"I'm trying to protect you from him," he defended.

I laughed.

"Protect? Out of the two of you, who's hurt me the most?"

"Leah, killing him is the same as killing yourself. You will feel every shred of pain that he feels tenfold."

"It doesn't matter, it won't come to that. I trust Wes."

"You met him two days ago."

"Three," I corrected, sounding a little weak. "And that's long enough."

"I don't want to see you hurt again," he said softly, "especially if I could have stopped it."

I felt kind of bad for him. Kind of.

"Kicking me out of the pack hurt too, Sam."

"I know, but I figured it would hurt less than the alternatives."

I ran my hands through my hair and sighed, "let's see how this vote turns out before I decide if I'm less mad."

"Fair enough," he said, leading me back to the bonfire.

-----------------------------

Instead of using the 'raise your hand if' method of voting, we decided to rip off Survivor and write our votes, put them in a jar and have Jeff Probst read them out loud.

Except instead of Jeff Probst we had Sam. I kept debating (in my head) which one was more annoying, when I pick a winner I'll let you know.

Now, I could be like that asshole host, drag out the vote count and slowly driving you to insanity.

But instead I will do this.

Total votes for kicking me out- 8

Total votes for not kicking me out- 9

Before I could stop myself, I had leapt to my feet, pointed at Sam and yelled, "Ha!"

Paul jumped up and high-fived me, Rachel should get a freakin' metal for coming back and being with him.

As the others came up and congratulated me, Sam slipped off into the forest.

Some people just can't lose gracefully.

I hugged Seth, and then in my excitement I almost hugged Jake. Thankfully I managed to restrain myself.

"I can't wait to tell Wes," I grinned.

"Maybe you should come home tonight," Seth suggested carefully. "Mom's been worried about you."

Crap.

With everything that had been going on, I hadn't been home. I think the last time I saw mom was when she asked me to drop off Emily's book. It seemed like it happened weeks ago when it had barely been three days.

"Let me update Wes and then I'll come home."

"Fair enough," he agreed.

-----------------------------

I phased and headed towards the Cullen house, assuming he'd be there.

I knew all our problems were far from over, but this was a positive step and was grateful for it.

I've learnt to enjoy what little victory's you get.

Shortly after passing the line, a strange scent filled my nostrils. I could identify vampire and werewolf.

My blood went cold.

As I got closer, three scents got stronger and stronger.

The first was Wes; the second was Sam.

And the third was blood.

I ran faster.

Wes must have heard me coming since he ran up to greet me, looking like he had been put through a shredder. His shirt was gone and I could see the deep claw marks covering his chest and face. (No blood though, vampires don't bleed.) And he looked scared.

"Sam's hurt," he croaked.

I followed him to a clearing, the trees looked like they'd been hit with a wreaking ball and the grass was torn up.

Sam was lying under one of the damaged trees in his wolf form, blood staining his fur, eyes closed and barely breathing. Wes had torn his shirt to try and stop the worst of the bleeding.

I phased back and ran to him. "What happened?" I asked Wes. "Who did this?"

He looked at the ground.

"I did."

"Why?" I gawped; knowing Sam didn't have time for me to be stunned.

"He started it," Wes said childishly.

I growled and check Sam over. "We have to get him to Dr. Cullen."

He looked at the very large wolf, "should we ask him to morph back?"

"That'll waste too much energy," I explained impatiently. "Can't you just carry him?"

"I'm strong enough to, but it's a matter of where I would hold."

I could see his point, if Wes tried to move him he could end up hurting Sam more. Even if I phased I wasn't big enough to carry him on my back.

"Do you have a phone?" I asked urgently.

"Yes," he said, hand going to his back pocket. "Oh, shit."

"What? Did it break during the fight?"

"No, I think it fell out." He said, checking around him.

"Well… Fucking find it!" I yelled.

I jerked back a little, probably because he wasn't used to me yelling, and started frantically searching the ground.

"Sam?" I called softly into his ear. "If you can hear me, hold on, ok?"

He let out a tiny whine; I guessed it was his way of saying, "I am."

I thought of Emily waiting at home for him. She never slept while he was out on pack business; she'd be awake right now, checking out the window every five minutes for some sign of his return.

I pushed it out of my head in time for a triumphant call of, "found it!"

Now I began to panic about what would happen after all this. Whether Sam lived or died, Wes was in huge trouble.

And I was the one who had to punish him.

"They'll be here real quick," Wes assured, kneeling next to us. "He's gonna be fine."

I didn't answer… I couldn't make myself.

"Leah," he began in a tone that scared me. "There's something you should know, and it's better that you hear it from me and not Sam… Especially since he doesn't know the whole story."

"Can't it wait?" I asked, voice cracking.

"Not really, it's kinda the reason we started fighting," he sighed. "When I was first turned… I killed someone."

-----------------------------

_AN2: I was so very tempted to stop at _I did_._

_And before you start, Wes did not tell Sam he killed someone, he's not an idiot. All will be revealed next chapter. _


	11. What happened

**Disclaimer:** I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

_**Chapter 11- What happened.**_

_AN: Sorry, computer broke _again_. But we got a new one now, so hopefully it will be smooth sailing from here._

_AN2: I'm giving up on naming the chapters after songs._

_QUESTION- Considering the swearing and sexual references, do you think I should change the rating to an M?_

-----------------------------

Wes's (that must be hell to pronounce) POV

It was a dark and stormy night…

Ok, it wasn't; I always wanted to do that.

It was a dark and somewhat windy with light rain-y night (that's nowhere near as cool) when Seth took Leah to their pack vote.

I don't deny it, I was really nervous, but there was no way in hell I was going to let Leah know.

I was tempted to wait at the boundary line for her, but figured I should spend some time with the Cullen's. They had let me into their home, been super awesome and I was thanking them by spending most of my time with Leah.

I think they understood, but I still wanted to be polite.

I ran back to their house, singing _Of Wolf and Man_ by Metallica on the way (hehe).

When I got there Esme was waiting for Carlisle to get back from the hospital so they could go hunting with Jasper and Alice, who had already left.

I was kinda relieved by that, I liked Jasper and Alice, but if that crazy little seer tries to cut my hair again, I will go ape-shit.

Nessie was watching cartoons with Emmett; Rosalie was in their room (doing her hair, I assume). Edward was at the piano and Bella was visiting her dad.

I wished Edward had gone with her, he was cool, but I'm not used to the mind reading thing yet. I know he can't help it, but…

Carlisle's car pulled up. That was probably the only thing I didn't like about this bunch, they travel faster than cars, but still insist on using them.

There's a fuel shortage and they have like ten cars. They have no respect for finite resources. Emmett used to drive a freakin' hummer until he found out it made people think that he had a tiny dick. (Edward must have had such fun telling him that.)

I ran everywhere I went, all my possessions fit in a duffel bag, so I was set. Except for my guitar, but that broke when it got caught on a tree last year, I'm still mourning so refuse to get a new one.

I ended up sitting with Nessie and Emmett, almost exploding with relief when she didn't want to watch _Hannah Montana_.

"Hello, Wes." She greeted, lisping the end of my name.

I loved Nessie, she reminded me of my little sister, Emma. Plus, she was a-freakin'-dorable.

Emmett was great too, he was a giant goofball, but he was also super smart. He'd have to be with all the schools he'd graduated from.

But he had more fun acting the fool; I couldn't not like the guy.

"Where have you been?" He asked playfully.

"Out," I shrugged.

"With…"

I smiled, "Leah."

My fiery she-wolf, and without question the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. Being around her has made my shitty excuse of a life, human and vampire, completely worth it.

"And what were you doing with her that kept you away from us all night?" Emmett said slyly, interrupting my thoughts.

"Not what you think." I replied.

Esme called out to him. "And not something you should be suggesting around Renesmee." She scolded.

"She doesn't know what I'm talking about," Emmett defended. "Right, Ness?"

She shook her tiny, curl-covered head.

"And, God willing, it will always be that way." He prayed.

"Not if Jacob interferes," I pointed out.

Emmett growled.

"Jake!" Nessie smiled happily.

Emmett growled harder.

"Evening all," Carlisle said as he came in, going straight to Esme.

"Evening, Captain." Emmett and I said, saluting him.

I'd called him that the other day and Emmett now insisted we call him nothing else.

We'll get tired of it soon though… then we'll start calling him Carlizzle.

Insert evil laugh.

"Boys," he sighed in greeting when he walked over to us, slipping Nessie a lollipop when he kissed her forehead.

"Good to see you, Wesley." I let calling me by my full name slide because of the captain thing and because Wesley sounds so much better when he says it.

"I don't think he likes us," Emmett pouted. "He spends all his time with Leah."

"Like you didn't spend every minute with Rosalie when he first met her," I scoffed.

"I would have, but she didn't let me."

I patted his shoulder and jumped off the couch to talk with Edward, while he was free.

And by free, I mean not on Bella.

"Hello," he said as I sat beside him on the bench.

"Edward," I don't tease him by calling him Eddie like Emmett does sometimes. "What'cha playin'?"

"Doesn't have a name yet," he replied. "So a vote?"

"Yeah, that was certainly unexpected."

He looked at me, "Leah's welcome to stay here if she needs to."

I smiled and started playing _Chopsticks_, the only song I know (on piano). "Are you sure you're all vampires? You act more like angels."

-----------------------------

I waited for her in the at the invisible boundary line, my phone said I was only there for thirty minutes, but I think it was lying to me.

Finally I heard the unmistakable thumping of giant wolf paws on the ground, but my joy was short lived when the scent wasn't Leah's.

I almost left but decided to wait in case someone was delivering a message from her.

My optimism was short lived when an angry, human Sam burst into view.

"Where's Leah?" I demanded, thinking the worst had happened.

"Still at the campfire, last time I saw her." He said, clearly not happy.

He was standing there naked and I had a strange, not at all homosexual, urge to check out… my competition, if you catch my drift.

I didn't though.

"How was _Survivor: La Push_ tonight?"

"Good," he said in the same tense tone.

"Good for me, or good for you?"

"Both," he said, smiling a little now. "Leah get's to stay."

I kept the stern, intimidating face, but cheered inside.

"But there's something else I'm very happy to report."

Cheering stopped.

"If, or when, you screw up," he smirked. "Leah promised to be the one who kills you for it."

I laughed; honestly thinking it was a joke, but Sam's smile got bigger.

"You think I'm lying?"

"I don't think Leah is that stupid," I countered.

But I was so very wrong.

"Imprinting makes you do stupid things," Sam said.

I wasn't really listening, I kept wondering if I was strong enough to resist the temptation plaguing me every second of every day. I never really doubted myself too much, but now that so much was at stake…

And not just for me.

"You don't look too confident," Sam teased. "Considering your pristine record."

I hadn't exactly lied about my history, I had never fed from a human, but I had killed one.

Unfortunately for Sam, I have a bit of a temper and I usually take it out of whoever is the cause or whoever is closest. He was both.

"Stupid things, huh?" I said, some confidence coming back. "Like ripping half your girlfriends face off?"

Sam growled, and not one of those wussy imitations humans do, this was pure animal.

"One of the pro's of imprinting on a vamp… we're very difficult to destroy."

He started to tremble, wanting to phase. "Not in my experience," he forced out.

"That's gotta keep you up at night and scared during the day… wondering if her next breath'll be her last… humans are so very fragile."

_Do it…_

"You seem angry… lucky Emily's not around… wouldn't want-"

He exploded into a giant furball and lunged at me.

_Good boy._

I had no intention of seriously hurting him, just beating him a little until he understood who the real top dog was. (I love puns.)

His teeth dug into my shoulder while his claws shredded down my chest.

I pressed both feet into his middle and kicked him; he flew back, snapping a couple of trees in half.

A very tiny, very unmanly _eep_ escaped me when the bastard jumped up and ran right back at me. I don't know if you've ever had a one ton wolf run at you, jaws snapping, but I promise you… it's pretty fucking scary.

So, remember how I have the ability to yell and a shockwave comes out? If you don't then I have the ability to yell and a shockwave comes out. The louder I yell, the more powerful it is.

Anyway, that's what I did. I sucked in a big, unnecessary breath and screamed at the top of my abused lungs just as Sam reached me.

And he rocketed right back the way he came.

He must have flown at least fifty feet before gravity sent him to the ground… but he still kept going, sliding along the dirt and taking out some more trees.

I grinned.

Take that, hippies.

Then he smacked his head and back on some rocks. Hard.

Grin vanished.

He stopped sliding and didn't get up.

"Sam?" I called, moving towards him.

"Sammy?" I called again.

Nothing.

Oh. Shit.


	12. It was me

**Disclaimer:** I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

**Chapter 12- It was me **

Last chapter I asked you if I should change the rating to an M. Only one person responded.

Thank you, xxshannen1xx, everyone sucks but you.

Over 200 reviews.

Thank you to all who have contributed.

_-----------------------------_

Leah's POV

I wasn't entirely sure how long I stared, stunned at Wes, I don't think it was too long, but I really can't tell.

Anyway, Carlisle, Emmett and Edward crashing towards us snapped me out of it.

"If he dies, you die with him." I said, not as a threat, more like a fact.

"I know," he replied softly.

Carlisle gracefully broke through the trees and went straight towards Sam, Edward and Emmett followed.

"What happened?" He asked, checking Sam's pulse.

"Smacked his head and back on some rocks pretty bad," Wes explained.

Edward looked at him, ready to speak, but seemed to change his mind.

While Carlisle did the doctor thing, I glared at Wes, oddly tempted to rip him apart.

Which, I may have to do anyway.

"He's slipping in and out of consciousness," Carlisle said. "The wounds on his back are healing well; it's safe to move him."

"Is he gonna be ok?" I asked as the other two lifted.

"I can't tell yet," he answered apologetically.

I nodded. "Can you go ahead? I need to yell at Wes for a while."

Emmett opened his mouth to say something, but Edward shook his head at him.

After they left Wes kept his eyes on the ground while I paced back and forth, running my fingers through my hair, trying to take everything in.

I finally decided where to start, "you killed someone?"

"It was after I was found by the coven who took me in; I stayed with them for a few months before I wanted to know how my family was doing."

I looked up at him in alarm, guessing how the story ended. His eyes were still on the dirt, so he didn't notice.

"I went back to Denver and stayed there for a while, watching them…" A smiled tweaked at his lips, but faded quickly. "They didn't even know I was dead… just thought I'd walked out of their lives… All except for my little sister, Emma, she was the only one I got along with… she knew I would never abandon her."

My heart broke for him; he sounded so goddamn sad.

"Anyhow, one night I was following her while she walked home from a friend's house…" his lip curled in anger now. "And someone else started following her."

I let out the breath I'd been holding.

"And she was smart about it, second she knew someone was on her tail, she started heading for well-lit, public areas." He looked up a little, but still didn't meet my eyes. "But he was too quick, and dragged her into an alley."

He shook his head, "I wasn't fast enough, he'd started hitting her when I pulled him off… she was bleeding."

The panic kicked in again, I hadn't known Wes long, but I knew how much he loved his sister.

"I had his jaw in my hand, and she started stepping towards me, and she said… in this tiny fucking voice… Wes?" His voice cracked, then he laughed a little.

"She knew, she fucking knew… who else but her big brother would protect her like that."

"I could smell the blood, and I cracked his jaw, trying to relieve some of the stress, but it wasn't working."

"I roared at her to run, and I have never seen anyone so fucking scared.

"I took it out on him, he was screaming while I kept hitting him over and over, until his skull was dust on the pavement. But even then he was still screaming, and then I realised… it was me screaming."

I didn't know what to say, so instead I cupped his face and kissed him, hoping and trying to comfort him.

"I didn't drink, I never have," he promised, wrapping his arms around me. "But, sometimes… my control slips and people get hurt."

I hushed him, not wanting to hear anymore, I just wanted to enjoy being this close to him while I could.

He kissed me back; I took that as good sign.

"Did you really volunteer to kill me if I broke the treaty?" He asked after a while.

"Yes," I replied, barely managing to say it.

He sighed, "that was a stupid thing to do."

"I'm starting to realise that."

"So, what do we do?"

I didn't want to think about it.

"Let's wait 'til Sam wakes up, we'll talk to him, maybe he'll let it go."

"What if he doesn't wake up?"

Emily's heartbroken face flashed in my mind.

"I won't let you kill me," he said, but not in a threatening way.

"And how are you gonna stop me?" I asked, sounding hard.

"I'll run," he explained.

"I'll follow," I countered.

He chuckled, "you can't follow where I'll run. They'll kill you on sight."

My stomach plummeted, "the Volturi."

He smiled sadly, "they've expressed an interest before, said I was free to come back anytime."

I almost started sobbing at the thought of him among those monsters.

"You can't-"

"Like you said," he interrupted, "wait 'til Sam wakes up."

_-----------------------------_

Jake was waiting at the Cullen house when we got there.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, panicked.

"Seth sent me," he replied. "You didn't come back like you promised, so he asked me to check on you."

He cut me off before I could say anything.

"What happened to Sam?" His hard eyes were on Wes.

"We got into an argument," Wes answered, body tense. "He attacked me, I fought back."

"No one's going to believe that," Jake scoffed.

"It's the truth," Wes growled (and remember; it really is.)

"Even if it is, if Sam says otherwise, you will be killed."

"Whose side are you on, Jacob?" I snapped impatiently.

"I'm not taking sides," he said, relaxing a little. "Not yet, anyway. But if Sam dies-"

"He won't," Dr. Cullen said, coming into the room with impeccable timing. "Sam will have a spectacular headache and need to rest for a few days, but he will live."

I was relived... beyond relieved really. Sam would be fine, he would go home to

Emily and his mother, the pack would probably be happy too.

But something in my stomach still wouldn't settle because I knew we weren't out of

the woods yet.

-----------------------------

I know everyone is doing this but…

This is dedicated to Daddy's Little Cannibal, she was a great talent taken far too soon. My prayers go out to her family and friends and I hope she is at peace.


	13. Better

**Disclaimer:** I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

**AN: **This is the last chapter apart from the epilogue. I don't want to, but I'm stopping for a few reasons…

1. Aside from Leah getting pregnant and/or the Volturi getting involved, I can't see this story going anywhere.

2. I barely have the time for this as it is, and I might be starting TAFE soon (for you non-Aussies TAFE is kinda like college, but I'm just doing one class.) so I'll have even less time and a lot more stress.

3. I don't want to drag this out until it becomes a piece of crap. Like they do with most horror movie franchises. (Should have stopped at SAW 3, dip-sh*ts)

So, enjoy =)

**Chapter 13- Better**

It's official; I'm back to hating imprinting.

And it feels good too, nice and familiar, like getting back into bed while it's still warm.

It's just too complicated and causes too much pain for me; I don't care what the positives are.

Speaking of the positives, it's been following me like a shadow all night.

"Are you alright?" Wes asked for the thousandth time in the last few hours.

"I'm fine," I replied through gritted teeth.

We were standing outside the Cullen house near where the forest started, for some reason I found it soothing. Thankfully the rain had just stopped, so my borrowed clothes stayed dry. I was grateful to Esme for them and I didn't want to show that by bringing them back soaked.

Stupid, polite bloodsuckers.

I don't even care about the results anymore; I just want this to end.

If Sam doesn't wake up soon, I'm going to go up there and start poking him with a sharp stick until he does.

It won't help, but it might make me feel better.

If he wants Wes killed, I'll have to be the one who does it, but Wes isn't going to allow that; he'd rather go hide out in Italy with the Volturi.

I fear this may come down to a footrace.

"When you were human what colour were your eyes?" I asked randomly, I just suddenly wanted to know.

"Blue… pale blue." He smiled nostalgically, "it was a family trait, people would always tell me and my sister what gorgeous eyes we had. My brother missed out, his were brown."

"Sounds nice."

"The ladies seemed to like it," he joked.

I glared at him playfully, but still didn't like thought of him and other women.

"Don't worry," he assured, "my lousy personality chased 'em off."

I couldn't stop myself… I didn't want to. I turned around and wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his neck and pressing light kisses on it.

"I'm sorry about all of this," he said, putting one arm around my shoulder and the other around my waist, pulling me close.

"It's not your fault… entirely," I told him, still a little angry.

He chuckled, chest bumping against mine.

He was still grinning when I kissed his lips, slowly and softly at first, taking a moment to enjoy it, and committing what it felt like into my memory.

His hand slid up my back, pushing my shoulder blade so I my chest crashed against his.

"I can feel your heart beating," he whispered, sounding awed.

Our bodies burned at the contact, hot against cold, fire against ice.

Someone, and I have no idea who, once said…_ when it's fire against ice, fire always wins._

Breathing heavily, he picked me and took me deeper into the woods.

-----------------------------

They all knew when we got back, I don't know how, but they knew.

I have theories… Maybe I was glowing.

Jake looked at us, he knew what had happened out there and unlike the others he didn't seem pleased.

"Somewhere our ancestors are vomiting," he said.

Calm down, he apologised for saying it later; he was just tired and stressed. He also thanked me for beating the crap out of him at the time.

But that came later, Wes glared at him, "shouldn't you be notifying the neighbours that you're here?"

I honestly thought Jake was going to kill him. I'm really gonna have to talk to Wes about goading werewolves into fights; it doesn't end well for anyone.

Assuming I have time.

"Sam's awake," Carlisle said quickly as he came down the stairs, probably wanting to distract us.

Wes squeezed my hand tightly before I let him go and went to face Sam.

-----------------------------

The room was dim; the only light came from a lamp on the table beside the bed.

Sam rested on the side; he smiled weakly when he saw me come in, I knelt on the floor by his chest.

His head looked pretty banged up; deep, dark bruises were scatted over his left side from his ribs to his face and his shoulder was taped up.

"Your boy fights dirty," he said hoarsely.

"One of many reasons not to pick a fight with him."

He sighed, "he pushed me… I lost control; it was like I was back in high school. Or Paul."

I laughed a little against my will.

"Is he ok?" Sam asked.

"He'll live," I nodded, not telling him all Wes had gotten were some scratches that had already healed. No need to kick him while he's down.

"I overheard some of the conversations downstairs… I attacked Wes, he's not in trouble."

"Maybe not from you," I said, unable to stop the smile spreading across my face. "He's still got me to deal with."

I was almost shaking, I was so happy, Wes was off the hook, he was safe.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked, noticing my trembling hands.

"Yeah," I breathed, "I'm just… relieved."

He smiled weakly.

"Don't think you're off the hook," I warned. "I'm still pissed that you attacked him."

"I was afraid of that," he grimaced and sighed. "If I just sat back and let this happen and he hurt you… that's another thing I can never forgive myself for."

"How long is that list now?" I asked.

"'Bout the length of my arm, should be my leg by Christmas."

"Why couldn't you just trust me on this?"

"Because when you imprint, you do stupid things like trust a vampire you know nothing about."

"Better than keeping him at a distance until he doesn't trust me," I countered. "Sometimes you need to take chances."

He nodded reluctantly, wincing when he shifted on the mattress.

"I'll let you get some rest," I said, getting up from the floor."

"I still don't like him," Sam said firmly, "and sure as hell don't trust him, but I will back off a little."

"A lot," I corrected.

He growled, but nodded.

"Are we…" He trailed off, hoping I would fill in the blank so he would have to. "Are we… good now?"

"We're… better," I answered honestly.

"I'll take it," he smiled.

-----------------------------

I knew he was there, waiting for me.

"I wasn't eavesdropping," he promised, voice sending a pleasant shiver through me. "But I was going to hear it anyway, and wanted to be close by."

"It's fine, Wes."

"I stopped paying attention after I heard we were in the clear."

I grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him.

"Seriously," I said, kissing him again for no real reason, "it's fine."

A goofy grin spread across his face. "Yeah, it is," he agreed, planting a trail of light kisses along my jaw.

I finally let out the sigh of relief I'd held in for almost two years.

-----------------------------

P.S. The New Moon trailer blew my freakin' mind, mostly because I wasn't expecting to see the transformation. I don't care what anyone says, I love wolf Jacob and can't wait to see the finished version.

And does Jasper's hair seem to be getting worse?


	14. Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** I'm not SM, but my cousin looks creepily like her.

**AN: **Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

**Epilogue-**

"Leah," my mom gushed when I came down the stairs. "You look beautiful."

I looked down at my outfit; it was just my good jeans and blouse, not a freakin' prom dress.

She noticed my puzzlement, "compared to what you usually wear, this is formal."

Behind her, Seth kept fiddling uncomfortably with the tie she was making him wear.

"Nice tie," I teased.

He shot me a death glare and then turned to mom.

"If he's not wearing one, I'm taking this off as soon as we get there."

"Fine," she sighed.

"He won't be wearing one," I warned her.

"Fine," she said louder, throwing her hands up in the dramatically.

-----------------------------

We drove around Port Angeles for about fifteen minutes looking for a parking spot; finally someone left, leaving us with a space across the street from where we were meeting Wes, who I could see standing outside the restaurant, waiting for us.

And not wearing a tie.

Seth ripped his off and left it in the car.

Wes had his usually unruly hair combed back and he had swapped the flannel and band shirts for a white button shirt and dark sports coat with matching jeans. I'm pretty sure the jeans were his, despite not having any holes or tears.

Even though his posture was perfect, he somehow straightened up when we approached.

Oh, this was too cute. (Insert mocking tone) He was nervous.

"Hello, Mrs. Clearwater," he greeted, sounding perfectly calm (all lies). "It's nice to meet you, I'm Wesley Bateman."

"It's nice to meet you too," she said, shaking his hand.

We got a booth away from everyone so we wouldn't be heard talking about anything supernatural. Which, (insert mocking tone again) shockingly, was our main topic of conversation.

"So, Wesley," my mother asked, using his full name to act intimidating. "How old are you?"

"That depends," he replied. "Are you asking how old I am or how old I am?"

"Both."

"Well I'm thirty-eight, but I look twenty-three."

"Huh," mom wasn't even fazed. "That seems so young."

We stopped talking when the waitress brought our food, asking if Wes was sure he didn't want anything, he politely refused and she left.

Since we were in public Seth and I didn't scarf down our food like we normally did.

"So you don't eat food at all?" Mom asked, apparently very curious about vampires.

"I can eat, but it tastes disgusting," he explained, making an unpleasant face. "I'd demonstrate for you, but I suspect trying to get food off your children's plates would get my arm ripped off again."

Mom chuckled, I kicked his leg lightly for the comment, he just grinned.

Seth, however, was suddenly very interested.

"You got your arm ripped off?"

"Yep, very recently."

"Paul," I said.

Mom looked concerned. "Why did Paul rip off your arm?"

I willed him to somehow hear my thoughts.

_'Don't say because we were about to make out. For the love of God, don't say because we were about to make out.'_

He shrugged, "you know, I'm not sure."

-----------------------------

"That was fun," Seth said when we got home. "It's not every day you meet someone who tried to drink James Hetfield's blood."

"You'd think all the alcohol would make it smell bad," my mother mused.

"I know, right?" Seth agreed, bounding up the stairs.

"So," I drawled casually. "What'd ya think?"

"He seems nice enough," she said in the same tone. "I love his hair," she added more enthusiastically.

"You should see it when it's not done up."

"I hope I do."

I smiled at her and went to change.

"Leah," she called, stopping me. "Please be careful."

I was about to rant about how sick I was of people bagging Wes because he was a vampire, but mom cut me off.

"I know you love him, but I don't think I can handle seeing you so heartbroken again."

_'Only you, mom.'_ I silently praised as I hugged her.

-----------------------------

I had to patrol that night, but knowing Wes was tagging along to keep me company made me actually look forward to it.

He was allowed to cross the border, just a little bit, as long as I was with him and he stayed away from the roads and any people wandering the woods. You probably think I was pissed at all the limitations, but I knew how lucky we were to get what we did and I was sincerely grateful.

The moon was full, making everything easier to see; Wes included. I was glad to see him back in flannel and ratty jeans again, he wasn't my Wes dressed up like earlier.

"Hey, she-wolf," he smiled when I ran up to him.

"Hey, yourself," I said, kissing him.

"So, does mom approve?"

"Mom wants to meet you a few more times before final judgment," I told him. "But likes what she seen so far."

"Odd, I was never good with the girlfriend's parents."

"Don't worry, you'll screw it up next time," I said, making it obvious that I was teasing.

"You're right, I shouldn't worry."

"C'mon," I urged, pulling him forward. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can leave and commit acts of necrophilia."

"And bestiality," he reminded.

I rolled my eyes, took off my clothes (like a gentlemen, he did not comment) and phased.

Neither of us liked the limited communication my wolf form meant, but it was necessary.

I snapped at his ankles playfully, he jumped to avoid them and chuckled.

"Catch me if you can," he taunted, running off.

I ran slower to tease him, he looked over his shoulder at me and poked out his tongue.

"Meep, meep." He called.

I huffed and ran up beside him, he didn't look surprised.

"That's my girl."

And together, we ran off into the night.

-----------------------------

I know I've missed sharing my opinion on a lot of things, but this one is most relevant to my story: The casting of the Clearwater's.

Boo-Boo Stewart (I thought he was related to Kristen at first) is adorable and I kinda hope we see him do some break dancing/karate on screen. Thus making Seth more awesome.

Adorable.

Julia Jones… honestly, I was hoping for that Pocahontas chick, and I'm not sure about JJ since I haven't seen any of her work. I await Eclipse so I can judge her, but until then eagerly anticipate seeing our favourite she-wolf brought to life.

(BTW) David Slade? My head almost exploded when I heard, I fucking love his work. Hard Candy is one of my all time favourite movies.

If you have not seen Hard Candy, go to a place where DVD's are sold or rented and buy it, or rent it. If for no other reason, do it to watch a pre-Juno Ellen Page torture a pedophile.


End file.
